In the Mean Time
by LuvEwan
Summary: Master and Apprentice fight the fading of day and the uncertainty of tomorrow. A COMPLETED vignette


In the Mean Time A Vignette by LuvEwan  
  
++++=++++  
  
The coarse grains were warm, and he buried his toes deep, feeling the fine particles grit against his skin.  
  
He wrapped his arms around his legs and pressed his knees to a bare, slim chest, then rested his dimpled chin upon them.  
  
The cool wind rippled through auburn locks, tickled the back of his gold- dappled neck. Obi-Wan smiled, a faint expression that ghosted past his sculpted lips.  
  
The waves crashed softly before him, splashes of cerulean, gleaming with underlying tones of jade and crystal. The sun was setting, casting an orange incandescence over the glittering spectacle and the young man sighed, allowing the vision to trickle into his soul, the water both warm and cool.  
  
He sorely needed the relief to smooth the places within his soul that had grown rough with time and too much experience.  
  
Obi-Wan's eyes raised to the rose and violet streaked sky. He watched the day begin to fade.  
  
He realized he was tired, with a weariness that soaked to his bones.  
  
The young man wanted to move. Just on the hill behind him was the humble house, where a bed with heavy quilts and pillows offered him the comfort of a night's gentle slumber.  
  
If only he could gather enough energy to stand.  
  
"I thought I'd find you here."  
  
Obi-Wan lifted his head toward the rich, baritone rumble.  
  
The light surrounded Qui-Gon, clinging to him, reveling in the muted outline of brown hair, making the edge glow.  
  
The Master sank gracefully beside him. Dressed in a sleeveless, slightly tattered gray tunic and baggy, worn blue leggings, the Jedi reserve seemed stripped away, leaving Qui-Gon the humorous, kind man he was beneath.  
  
"Your dinner awaits." He announced.  
  
Obi-Wan shrugged. "Tell that to my legs. They won't move."  
  
Qui-Gon chuckled. "I know the feeling."  
  
Their eyes, in unison, swept across the sublime landscape.  
  
Obi-Wan's countenance was illuminated by the sun's rays, tracing down his cheek.  
  
Qui-Gon touched the silken kin with a single callused fingertip. "We're leaving tomorrow morning."  
  
Obi-Wan looked at him, disappointment and surprise evident in his handsome features. "But I thought." He sighed, turning away. "I thought we were staying longer." He finished in a murmur.  
  
The exhausted tone of his voice, usually cultured to the point of lyrical, pained Qui-Gon to hear. He laid his massive palm on the apprentice's knee. "I'm sorry, Obi-Wan. The Council called a few minutes ago with an assignment. I tried to avoid it, but we're the closest team available.I'm sorry."  
  
Obi-Wan just nodded. He stared into the distance, where the horizon met the great, spanning, inviting ocean.  
  
And he sprang up suddenly, throwing a roguish grin at his teacher before dashing toward the glimmering waves.  
  
His braid flew freely behind his shoulder, a thin, plaited stream of red- gold. Then, with a reckless, somehow childish abandon, leapt into the water.  
  
Qui-Gon watched him plunge beneath and smiled, propping his elbows on the heated sand.  
  
Obi-Wan's head emerged quickly, dripping hair plastered to his head.  
  
"C'mon!" He shouted.  
  
Qui-Gon shook his head. "I'd rather not freeze to death!" He called back.  
  
The youth huffed and rolled his eyes. "It's not cold." He paused, mischief creeping onto his face. "You wimp!"  
  
Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow. "What was that?" He asked, strangely calm as he stood and began walking slowly to the surf.  
  
Obi-Wan smiled wider. He bobbed up and down with the rhythm of the ocean. "What? Was I not loud enough?" He gathered a breath. "WIMP!"  
  
The Master continued his steady trek.  
  
As he came closer, Obi-Wan took a small stroke backward.  
  
Qui-Gon grinned. "What's wrong, Obi-Wan? I thought you wanted me to come in."  
  
Obi-Wan swallowed, gooseflesh rising on his arms.  
  
The towering man stopped when the tied flowed over his bare feet.  
  
"O-On second thought, maybe it is a bit cool---"  
  
But Qui-Gon was already jumping in, emitting a guttural yell that dashed every shred of his near-regal, stoic demeanor.  
  
The yelp that escaped Obi-Wan was also decidedly unlike him, a man who was renowned for his intensity and dry wit.  
  
He started to swim desperately, a flurry of legs and arms, only to be captured against a broad chest.  
  
"Help!" He screeched, laughing in breathless spurts as he was lifted clear out of the warm waters.  
  
Qui-Gon almost stopped. He realized how very long it had been since the melodic sound of his companion's giggles filled his ears.  
  
Ah, there's time for sentiment later.  
  
He tossed Obi-Wan a good fifteen feet, the Force surging the wailing Padawan the last few.  
  
Obi-Wan screamed when he splashed in with a resounding slap, sending a spray of droplets as he went under.  
  
Qui-Gon laughed heartily, He rubbed the wet from his cheeks.  
  
The smaller man swam swiftly beneath the surface, gliding amid the tiny, colorful sea life. He broke through the flat top of the ocean, but instead of glaring at his devious friend, his eyes danced.  
  
Qui-Gon was beaming. "Well, have you been taught a lesson?"  
  
The apprentice's closed mouth spread to a smirk.  
  
Too late Qui-Gon noticed the slight bulge of already round cheeks.  
  
Obi-Wan spit out a mouthful of water, effectively wiping the smug grin from his mentor's ( soaked) face.  
  
"Have you?" He asked.  
  
++++=++++  
  
When the sun finally disappeared under the far away line of mountains, Qui- Gon reluctantly caught Obi-Wan's wrist, stilling him. "We better head inside. It's getting dark."  
  
Obi-Wan smiled, a sheen of moisture over his bare chest and shoulders. "Master, it is dark."  
  
"Then we're already in trouble." He remarked, taking a strong stroke toward shore.  
  
Obi-Wan followed. "Why?" There was a curious, almost uneasy tinge to the query.  
  
Qui-Gon glanced back at him. "Oh, you know."  
  
"NO."  
  
"The snap-lares, Padawan."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Oh." Qui-Gon inhaled sharply. "You don't know about them?"  
  
"No.What are they?"  
  
"Oh, they're.it's not important."  
  
Obi-Wan grit his teeth in irritation. "Master, WHAT are they?"  
  
Qui-Gon feigned a heavy sigh. "They're called monsters---"  
  
Bright, aquamarine eyes widened.  
  
"BUT, they're really just three thousand pound snakes with an entire row of sharp, venomous fangs. They latch onto a leg and.." He quirked his mouth gravely. "That's it."  
  
Obi-Wan moved a fraction closer to him. "B.But they're not monsters?"  
  
Qui-Gon shook his head, then appeared to reconsider. "Well, not technically."  
  
"Oh.Sith." The apprentice cursed. "Three thousand pounds?"  
  
"Yep." He confirmed. "I don't think they really mean to be ferocious, Padawan. I read that they eat this rare type of fish that bare a striking resemblance to a human leg and it's only their nature to---"  
  
While his Master rambled on about the horrific creatures, Obi-Wan felt a tickle move up the curve of his foot. He shook it feverishly, chewing on his bottom lip in old habit. The light, tingling touch remained.  
  
His heart pounded. "Master?"  
  
"Yes, Obi-Wan?"  
  
Obi-Wan kicked the foot out, but the prickles only multiplied.oh.they felt like they were moving up to his calf now. An entire row of fangs.  
  
"Um, there aren't a lot of those things are there?"  
  
Qui-Gon shrugged. "I'm not sure. I know they favor hunting at nightfall and---"  
  
The tickle was unbearable. One leg and that's it.. A thrill of panic snapped inside him. He shrieked, bounding into Qui-Gon, throwing his arms around a long, secure neck. "Master! I think it has me!" The odd sting grasped around his entire leg. "MAAAASTTER!!!"  
  
"Gods!" Qui-Gon ran to shore, Obi-Wan wrapped around him.  
  
Once they were a distance from the ocean, the Master allowed himself to laugh..hard.  
  
Obi-Wan lifted his head, forehead crinkled, water pouring from his hair into his eyes. The tingle was ebbing.but why, for star's sake, was his Master laughing at him? Slowly, he pulled away and stood, scratching at the leg. "Master? What's so fun---" When it dawned on his face, Qui-Gon was sent to the ground, in hysterics, as Obi-Wan stood fuming above him.  
  
"YOU MADE THIS ALL UP?!" He shouted incredulously.  
  
Qui-Gon managed to nod, tears rolling from the corners of his eyes.  
  
Obi-Wan's chest heaved. His teeth were grit. Cheeks blushed furiously. Fire crackled in a gaze usually as breathtaking and tranquil as the ocean. "You are.EVIL!" He cried, and launched himself on top of the snickering man, wrestling him with a smile that one could only describe as wicked.  
  
++++=++++  
  
Obi-Wan rested his head on his arms, stretched in the sand, the moon gleaming amid a thousand stars above him. The breeze blew against his skin, drying the beaded moisture.  
  
"I beat you, you know." He said nonchalantly.  
  
Qui-Gon chuckled, rolling to his side, balanced on an elbow. "Believe what you will."  
  
"Sore loser." Obi-Wan grumbled between yawns. The soft wind strengthened, and the apprentice quelled a shiver, wishing he was clad in more than soaking wet swim trunks.  
  
He felt a sturdy arm push him up, then drape across his shoulders and pull him to Qui-Gon's side.  
  
Obi-Wan settled against his chest, his Master's heartbeat a soothing pulse to his ear.  
  
Qui-Gon pressed a kiss into the slick cap of wet ginger hair. "I love you." He whispered.  
  
But the youth had already drifted to sleep, cradled in the warmth of his father's embrace.  
  
The Master sighed. He studied the canvas before him, painted in dark and light, and thought of tomorrow, when they would be forced to leave this place.  
  
He had to admit, he shared Obi-Wan's feelings. He wanted to stay.  
  
But life moved forward. No one could still its travel. And soon, so soon, Obi-Wan would be elevated to Knight status.  
  
Years of pain and weariness were ahead. For them both.  
  
Yet, in the mean time, they could find these precious moments.  
  
And remember them when the shadows fell. 


End file.
